Lost
by legolasgreenleaf14
Summary: *rewrite* Winter never thought a simple trip to a summer basketball game would send her to another world. When another girl transports herself to Middle-Earth, Winter gets taken as well, and finds herself in the rain outside of a town called Bree. Will they ever find their way back? Rated T because I'm paranoid. Cliché 10th/11th walker story.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey guys! Welcome back, or if you're new, I guess it's just welcome, but anyway. I went through and got finished the first chapter, and have started the second. I really appreciate all of the support you have given me from the older version, and now (hopefully) for the new one. So, without further ado, I have one quick thing that I would like to tell you. The personalities of the two main characters have changed slightly. I'm letting you know this now so, I don't know, you all don't faint? You may proceed...**

* * *

Chapter 1

There it was again. That pang, starting deep in my stomach, climbed to my throat. Shivers went down my spine when I realized it was back. My shoes squeaked the slightest, and I froze, my heart stopping. Looking up, I saw them before I felt them. Those eyes were always watching me, calculating my every move. I took another deep breath.

"Are you ready Winter? We're about ready to start another one."

I shook my head, finally finding reality. The girls basketball head coach, Coach Zimmerman, was looking at me, puzzlement and concern in his gaze. My heart rate slowed, and I nodded.

JJ, a senior and my team's captain, beckoned me over. It was easy to see that she wasn't very happy with me. She shot me a look that told me she wasn't going to let my little lateness go for a while, then she began telling us who was going to start the next scrimmage. "Let's see." After looking at our team's roster, she continued, "Alright, why don't we have Charlie, myself, Sydni, Kristen, and Winter go?" She paused again, mulling it over, then nodded. "Yes. That's what we're going to do."

JJ led us out onto the court. I was honestly pretty surprised that she decided to put me in, but I wasn't going to argue with her. JJ wasn't the type you won an argument with, let alone started one with.

The five of us got into position with JJ jumping. I had her flanked left, while Charlie stayed on her right. Coach Hamilton, another coach, walked to the middle of the main circle, holding the ball. He stopped in between JJ and Kay, another senior. Looking between the two of them, he said, "First team to 5 wins."

In one fluid motion, Coach Hamilton threw the ball into the air, in the middle of Kay and JJ, then ran back to where Coach Zimmerman was standing. JJ leapt up and tipped the ball to her right where Charlie was ready to catch it. After securing the ball in her possession, she began dribbling up the court, and called out our play: Red. She watched us move, waiting for my cut to happen. It was imperative I got this right, because this would open the floor up tremendously.

Silently, I was counting the seconds in my head. _3...4..._ When I got to five, I took off, sprinting past JJ's right shoulder to the top of the key. Behind me, JJ did a reverse pivot and ran forward. Charlie passed her the ball, then JJ took it in for a nice layup.

Hamilton held up a finger on his right hand. "0-1, JJ's team."

The scrimmage went on nicely for a few more minutes with us now up by three. Unfortunately, Charlie fouled Kay when my back was turned. She didn't look to happy with herself, so I put my hand on her shoulder in reassurance as our teammates came to sub us out.

"Oh my gosh. I knew better," Charlie growled, beating herself up.

I turned to her. "Don't worry about it."

She looked at me. "What do you mean 'don't worry about it'? If I want a spot on varsity then I really need to watch myself." She dropped the conversation after that, but continued grumbling to herself under her breath.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sydni sneak out into the main hallway. She kept throwing glances over her shoulder, so naturally I left Charlie to wallow in her sorrows to go follow her. "Hey, Charlie, I'm not feeling so good. I'll be right back." I motioned to the bathrooms out in the hall.

She simply waved me off, throwing over her shoulder, "Don't you puke on me."

I took that as a good sign. Charlie at least said something back that made some sense. With that in mind, I scurried out of the gym and prepared myself for my trip to the "bathroom".

Sydni was walking silently down the main hallway, which was weird. She was one of the loudest walkers I knew. For her to be walking silently tipped something off in me. Her walking form looked completely normal, which also threw me a bit.

When I began to follow her, she stopped, frozen. Turning very slowly, she threw a look behind her shoulder. Fear gripped me in its hand. I was going to be caught. In a split second, even though my brain said that doing anything would be futile, I dove behind one of the pillars in the hall. My breath quickened, and I fought to bring it back down.

I couldn't hear her footsteps, no matter how hard I tried. That finding told me a few things. One, she wasn't moving. Two, she was moving towards me. Three, she was moving away from me. Neither of my conclusions were helpful in this scenario because I couldn't tell which one she was doing.

I sucked in a shaky breath, and peered out from behind the post. She was still standing there, but her guard had lowered a bit. A few more seconds passed before her shoulders lost their tense stature, then she left.

My legs silently moved from their spot, and I followed her. My shoes still scuffed the tile, so I stopped, pulled them off, then placed them behind a pillar. Taking a few seconds to make sure I was completely ready now, I sighed, then took off into a jog. When I looked up at the end of the hallway, I noticed that she was nowhere to be seen. Before I could smack my forehead, I heard a small gasp then the sound of a piece of paper crumpling somewhere to my right. Turning my head ever so slightly, I caught sight of her back. She was facing the far wall holding something.

I could hear my breath quicken. A tingling sensation rose in my stomach, then spread to my arms and legs before stopping at my toes and fingers. Chills coursed through my back, making me gasp. I didn't like any of this, but I approached Sydni cautiously.

When I was within an arm's reach, Sydni's voice stopped me in my tracks, "I knew you were following me. You're very persistent, but not very quiet." She turned, making me step back a bit.

She looked like Sydni, but at the same time, it just wasn't her. Her usually plain brown hair now held a faint red hue, and it was braided. It wasn't a normal braid either; her hair was gathered into one fishtail design. Her eyes were still hazel, but they were brighter. More alive, I supposed.

She took in a deep breath. "I guess it's nice to have someone wish me well before I leave. This is the end of my time on Earth."

I grabbed her arm. "What do you mean?"

She removed my arm as if it were rotten flesh. "In about two minutes, I am going to die. No one will ever know of me ever again." She took a step back and spread her arm out wide. "I'm not a mortal."

"First of all," I said, "that was very dramatic. What do you mean when you say you're not a mortal?"

She shrugged. "I don't know exactly what I am, but I have a pretty good guess."

Her body began to glow with a strange blue light. "What's happening to you?"

"I'm leaving," She whispered, then closed her eyes.

Tight, ragged gasps escaped me. She couldn't leave. I grabbed her arm again, making sure she couldn't shake me off. "Wait! Where are you going? I'm not going to let-"

Sydni couldn't shake me off before the world began spinning. Darkness blurred my vision, and I felt my eyelids close.

* * *

Something wet was falling on my back and head. Groaning, I tried to roll over, but something solid prevented me from doing so. A massive headache took over my head, and I choked back a gasp.

Beside me, the heavy object moved. "Tell me about it." It was Sydni.

I successfully rolled over this time and propped myself up on my elbows. The ache plaguing my head intensified, but that didn't compare to the rage I was feeling. "Where," I growled, "the heck are we?"

Sydni pushed herself up into a crouch. "Just outside of Bree."

"Bree?" I demanded in a question. "Where's Bree?" Pausing, I gasped, then continued as a new malice began eating me, "If you're lying... Let's just say that if you're lying, I will kill you." My voice shook with rage.

She appeared unnerved. "We need to find Strider."

That did it. "Who is Strider!? Where are we!? If we survive this crazy ordeal, then I will destroy you!"

"Shut up!" She clamped a hand over my mouth. "Strider is the only guy who can help us. And stop threatening me! It wasn't my fault you grabbed my arm!"

"Well," I started, unable to think of a good retort, "you could have shoved me off, or at least could have listened to me! What were you doing anyway? And you haven't answered my other question: where are we!?"

She rolled her eyes, hissing, "Keep it down! All of the hobbits in the Shire probably know we're here now, thanks to you! Also, I tried to shove you off, and there was no way I was going to listen to you. What I was doing is none of your business." She broke off after that, leaving my one main question unanswered.

"Fine, don't tell me where we are. What you were doing does actually concern me now that I'm trapped with you!" The last word echoed throughout the surrounding woodland area.

Sydni shot me a death glare. "What is so hard about shutting up?" One sigh escaped her lips before she went on, "We're in Middle-Earth."

"Yeah. Very funny. Now what were you doing?"

"I'm serious. We aren't on Earth." Her hazel eyes showed nothing but seriousness, but she went on, "I was trying to use Harry Potter type magic to transport me to another dimension."

I faked a laugh. "Yeah right. What were you doing? Don't make me repeat myself."

"I don't know. I had this weird dream about Middle-Earth. I wasn't a human either. I was something else. There were these instructions that were floating around my head, and I figured that it wouldn't hurt to try them out. I didn't really expect them to be right, but I guess they were. Anyway, I left open gym to try them out, but you followed me, and now I can't get us back." She looked at me pointedly. "Satisfied?"

"How stupid are you?" I cried, throwing some grass at her. She just shrugged. "Why would you even attempt something that stupid?" Calming myself down a bit, I went on in a calmer tone, "Well, we're here now, so I guess we'd better make this worth it. Let's go find Strider." Sighing, I stood up and brushed wet grass off of my jeans. Hopefully Sydni was right about this Strider guy.

* * *

**AN: So...the first chapter. It's longer than the other one, and yes, the transportation was changed. Laegwen will not be a traveler between worlds this go-around, but she will still possess knowledge of the Lord of the Rings. Laegwen also will not have any more visionary type things ever again. I was just trying to think of something I haven't read before, but at the same time it wouldn't seem totally weird. If that makes sense...**


	2. Chapter 2

**DeLacus - Thanks! Here it is! Enjoy!**

**DancingChesnut - I'm planning on the half-elf, but it's not set in stone yet. Thank you! :)**

**Doctor Legolas - Thank you! I hope you like this one!**

**I AM SHER LOCKED - Thanks! Hopefully about a week or two isn't to long of a wait.**

* * *

**Recap:**

Sydni and Winter got transported to Middle-Earth through the mystical-ness of Sydni.

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Chapter 2

Sydni was a few feet ahead of me, muttering to herself. How was it that she could walk so gracefully in all of the mud while my feet just sank into it? Her feet didn't make a suctioned noise when she lifted them. It just wasn't fair!

I didn't hear Sydni shouting at me because I was too busy being angry at her for being so seemingly perfect at the moment, for dragging me here with her, and then at the fact that Sydni didn't know where the heck she was going, no matter how much she said that she did. Then, there was the whole I-have-mud-in-places-I-never-thought-mud-would-get-into issue. Mud streaked my clothes, ran down my back, was all over in my hair, and coated any exposed skin, which included my face. Even though it was still raining, the mud still managed to stick to me.

A big blob of mud nailed me in the stomach, making me stagger. I didn't fall, because my shoes, which were still stuck in the mud, kept me up. For a brief moment, I was grateful for my suctioned-to-the-ground feet. When I looked down at my shirt, however, any gratefulness was destroyed. A splatter paint array of mud now decorated my torso. My eyes flicked upwards, settling into a nice glare when they found Sydni's smirking face. "What the heck was that for!?"

She had the nerve to shrug. "I needed to get your attention somehow." Suddenly, she faltered, her smirk fading.

My pleasure didn't last long, because some not good emotion passed through her eyes. "What are you thinking? We had better not be officially lost."

She ran over and tackled me, pinning me behind a clump of dense bushes. "Shut up! I think I hear a horse."

"That's good, isn't it?" I asked.

"Not if the person riding it is something like an assassin!"

I lowered my voice to a whisper, "What if he's a good assassin?" She shot me a look. I continued, "What about Hawkeye? Black Widow? They're good assassins."

"They're also from comicbooks. Now seriously, shut up!" She clamped a hand over my mouth for good measure.

Squirming underneath her grip, I tried to free my mouth from her muddy hand. Sydni sighed, then sat on me, hissing, "Do you want to get us killed?" Shaking my head no, I stopped squirming long enough to hear a horse whinny. That froze every fiber in my body. How was Sydni right?

The hoofbeats slowed, but got louder. Then, they just stopped. The only thing one could hear was the rain, before this ear piercing shriek cut through. Stifling a groan, I covered my ears with my hands. A headache came over me, pounding through the thought I was in the middle of thinking. Thankfully, the noise stopped, but the headache remained, causing my whole head to throb. I tentatively let go of my ears and moved my fingers to my temples. The hoofbeats started up again, but were gradually fading away.

Opening my eyes, I noticed that the world was blurring. Groaning, I shook my head. That just made my headache worse, and I stifled a tight gasp. "What the heck was that?"

"A ringwraith, or one of the Nazgul. Use which ever you prefer, I guess." Sydni was also grabbing her temples, but didn't look like it was bothering her as much as it was bothering me. "It's gone now."

"Let's hope he won't come back." I shivered as a clump of new mud slid down my arm.

She looked out from behind the bush. "That one shouldn't."

"What do you mean, 'that one'? There's more?" I hesitated while Sydni crawled out of the bushes.

"Yes. There are nine. Now come with me," she brushed her hair out of her face, her eyes lighting up, "we're going to do some tracking." I groaned, but left the security of the bushes to follow her into the darkened forest.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" A long period of time had passed, and we weren't anywhere near this 'Bree' place. Sydni shot me a look, then froze and pulled me behind a tree.

Hoofbeats were filling the air, but these didn't sound like the 'NASCAR-wraith-ring'. The beats were more rapid, and much quieter. I turned to Sydni. "This one's different." That dawned on her as well, so she pushed me out onto the trail we had been following.

"Of course. You let me be the one sacrificed." I muttered, blinking through the rain. Hopefully, whomever this was wouldn't judge my muddy appearance to harshly.

A misty shape in the distance began advancing my way. Fear began coursing through me. What if this was just a quieter assassin? Closing my eyes, I tensed up, figuring that if I didn't see him, I wouldn't be as scared. I was wrong, because I could hear him coming.

The hoofbeats slowed, then began circling me. A harsh voice called out, "Open your eyes!"

To scared to become defiant, I opened my eyes to see a man on a horse watching me as he walked his steed around me. He was wearing a very durable-looking cloak, so I couldn't see his face, but I assumed that whomever he was, he was warmer than I.

"What is your business here?" He asked.

I shrugged, but it didn't turn out as nicely as I had hoped. It probably looked like more of an awkward jerk. "I don't really know."

He slowed his horse long enough to dismount. "You don't really know? How did you get out here?"

"Umm," I started, "it's all really confusing, and kind of a long story. I really don't know many details about it either. But my friend," I gestured to the tree behind me, "knows more about this than I do."

Sydni stepped out from behind the tree. Extending her hand to the man, she introduced us, "I'm Sydni, and this is Winter. We need to get to Bree."

"I'm afraid I can't really help you much. You see, I'm on some rather important business myself. I was told to look for a few friends of a friend of mine."

Sydni moved between the man and his horse. "Strider, we really need your help. If you could just help us get to Bree, that would be amazing."

Strider looked at us curiously, then shook his head. Gently nudging Sydni out of the way, he mounted his horse again, and called, "Just follow the trail and you'll get to Bree." With that, he turned his horse and galloped off.

"Well, isn't he just a helpful ray of sunshine." I muttered as I headed down the path.

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**AN: I couldn't find how Strider got to Bree, so this ended up like more of a filler... Unless I'm blind, I found nothing. Or I just wasn't searching hard enough, which could very well be the case. Anyway, I hope Strider wasn't OOC... I tried to make him seem like he was in a hurry.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Taralia-Rebelle-Sky - Thanks!**

**DancingChesnut - Oh thank you! That makes more sense than what I had... I really appreciate your help! I think what I wrote leans more toward the b choice, so I guess that's what will happen. I also changed the dialogue between the three of them. I can't thank you enough! :)**

**Doctor Legolas - You just helped me out a bit! I wasn't sure how I would start a conversation between the girls and Strider, but when you pointed out his rudeness, it clicked! Thank you! :)**

**Airlya - I wasn't satisfied with where my older version was going, and I couldn't follow any of my rabbit-trails of ideas.**

* * *

**Recap:**

After a 'lovely' bump in with Strider, Sydni and Winter are off to Bree.

* * *

Chapter 3

"I'm pretty sure I'm coming down with something!" Winter called up to me, shivering.

Night had fallen around the time Strider had left us, and Winter had been fine then. Looking back at her now, I had to admit, she did look pretty miserable. Mud somehow still caked her clothes, and her hair was 100% saturated. Her frame looked even thinner than it already was with her clothes plastered to her skin. Shooting me a glare, she brought her arms tighter around her, and sneezed. Her eyebrows raised. "See? I told you."

"I'm sure you're fine." Shaking my head, I once again began wishing Strider had had the decency to give us a pair of spare cloaks! Hissing to myself, I looked at the ground, "Perhaps Strider is like most men, and doesn't pack extra things for the future!"

Winter's voice piped up. "Stop talking to yourself."

Shooting her a glare, I threw my hands up into the air. "If only Strider had helped us out a bit!"

"Well," Winter swallowed as if she was unsure about how I would react, "he did look like he was in a hurry. And," she shot me a look when I opened my mouth to argue, "he did tell us how to get to Bree."

"I knew how to get to Bree! We didn't need him!"

She put her hands on her hips. "You did not." Rolling my eyes, I turned, getting bored with our spat. "Yeah, keep walking. You really know I'm right."

"At least I'm not the sassy one," I muttered to myself. Minutes later, our debate died altogether when time confirmed Winter hadn't heard my remark.

We walked in silence for about a half an hour or so. More puddles soaked through my boots until I could no longer tell if I had any feet anymore. My shoulders sagged, but straightened themselves again when Winter suddenly gasped. "Sydni!"

Fearing the worst, my head shot up. "What!?" My fists were drawn, and my eyes were searching for any unseen threat. Winter sneezed and pointed.

A strangely familiar wooden structure, which resembled a gate, was a few hundred feet feet away. A small door was the only thing that gave the gate any noticeable features, but before the door was a road covered in mud. Seeing the door canceled that all out, because a weight had lifted off of my shoulders, so I quickened my pace. Behind me, I heard Winter speeding up as well. She was as anxious as I was.

After crossing the muddy abyss of questionable return, we stopped before the door separating us from society, warm beds, and dry clothes. Winter hastily knocked on the door. A little window near the top opened, and the pale grey eyes of an older man stared out at us. He appeared confused, and a little wary. "What are the two of you doing out in this weather at this hour?"

"We are simply travellers who have lost their way. Might we stay at an inn?" I answered.

Mulling it over for a second, he finally shut the window, then opened the door, beckoning us in with smooth, rapid gestures. "Well, come on now. Don't be shy." While thanking the man many times over, Winter half shoved me through the doorway. He smiled at us, then closed the door.

Winter began pulling on my arm, demanding, "Which inn are we staying at?" Stopping for a moment, she shot me a look. "You will know how to get there, right?"

I nodded, and answered, "The Inn of the Prancing Pony." A confused look appeared on her face, but I ignored it and led her quickly through the small crowd of people gathering in the streets. Part of my mind wondered what they were doing awake, but then another part supposed they could think the same about us.

I really did know where I was going, because pretty soon, the sign bearing the inn's mascot hung overhead. I wanted to say something about always knowing where I was going, but I didn't have the time, because Winter had already dragged me inside.

The bar inside was a cozy little place, with lots of wooden tables, chairs, and barstools. The language I could hear the most, which was louder than the rest, was in English, but my ear also picked up some Elvish. My pulse quickened. There were Elves present, and I could sort of understand what they were saying, which told me a few things: the one week full of long Quenya and Sindarin classes had paid off, and what I heard made sense. One was talking about their homeland, while another was explaining how they held a bow.

There was also a decent number of drunk men, which was expected, since we were sort of in a bar. An older man actually passed out on his stool, while a few other younger men were heading that way. The majority were just toasting to their health.

In front of us, the inn's keeper was staring at us expectantly. "Can I help you?" Something in his tone told me that he had been asking that for a while.

"I'm sorry," I apologized quickly, then continued on to business. "Could we have a room?" He nodded, then gave us directions on how to get there. Before leaving for the comfort of a bed, I asked, "Do you know anyone who could get us clothes?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Me." As if he could just produce clothes out of thin air, he handed us a stack from behind the counter, then told us the cost. Quickly paying so I could get some rest, I accepted the stack, and led Winter to our room.

A flight of stairs later, one door was the only thing standing between me and a bed. I opened the door, threw off my shoes, and flopped down on the bed. A Winter-sized object flopped down on the other bed. We both sighed simultaneously. I could have stayed like that for forever, but a sudden shout from the bar made me consciously aware that our door was still open. Groaning, I went and shut the door, then made to take off my wet clothes.

They hit the ground in wet splatters, and I moved them into a single pile. I would worry about them later. I grabbed the dry clothes from the foot of my bed. Pulling the pair of dark grey pants on, I grabbed the matching black shirt, then assessed how it all fit. The shirt was perfectly fine, but the pants were a bit small. Taking them off, I threw them at Winter, who grunted when they hit her. Pulling the other grey pair to me, I threw them on, and sighed. They were much better.

There was a pair of boots and a cloak for each of us as well, which was an added blessing. I placed the boots at the side of my bed, and then spread the cloak over the covers for added warmth. After finally feeling dry, I drew back the covers and climbed into the bed. My eyes closed, and I gave way to the temptation of sleep.

* * *

When I woke up again, it was still dark, and it was still raining. Winter had changed, and was pulling on her boots. I rolled over, still groggy. "What time is it?"

Somehow, Winter still had her watch with her. It was solar powered, waterproof, and she never took it off. She drew her wrist closer to her. "6:48 in the evening of the 29th." She stopped, confused. "Since when was it September? When did we leave?"

"The 17th of June. Time is different here." That was the only explanation I had, because my mind was spinning. The 29th of September? That meant the hobbits were already here, or had just arrived.

"You should probably get up." Winter was moving over to the door. I nodded, threw my covers off of me, and swung my legs over the side of the bed. The air outside of the warm bed was similar to the temperature of freezing water. Shivering, I pulled on my boots, then draped my coak over my back. Winter mimicked my movements, then we grabbed our wet clothes. It felt wrong to leave them behind. Doing one last sweep of the room, we shut the door behind us, heading for the bar below.

Needless to say, it was much louder than it had been at about 4 in the morning. More laughter, and more slamming of things echoed through the hall. I began wondering how our door had kept it all out.

When we hit the end of the stairs, Winter drifted off in search of a table. I followed, but only to make sure that she didn't get involved in any of the bar fights.

The only empty table in the whole place was right next to the table with three small hobbits. They each had a cup of beer in front of them, and were looking rather gloomy. Two of them had lighter brown hair, and the last had darker hair, which he tried to hide his face with. I didn't want to be the one to tell him that it didn't work. Seeing them like that made something in my mind click. That was Frodo. Sam was the one beside him, and Pippin was across from him.

"I'll have a water, please," Winter said to the man from the counter, who I believed to be Barliman Butterbur. He nodded, then continued on his way about the bar.

Someone on my right bumped into me, and a small splatter was heard. Turning my head, I glared, drawing my arm back. Merry sighed, then looked up at me. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine Mer-, uh, mister hobbit." I choked. Shooting me a puzzled look, he turned and sat down beside Pippin. They struck up a small conversation about Merry's drink, then Pippin scurried off to go get one.

"Here you go," Butterbur said, dropping Winter's water in front of her.

She thanked him, then looked at it. It looked more like ale to me, but Winter wasn't as hesitant. She sniffed it, shrugged, then took a small sip. The most horrid expression appeared on her face, and she cringed. After somehow managing to swallow, she gasped, "Not water." Pulling it closer to myself, I smelled it, then pushed it back hastily. Definitely ale.

Butterbur had stopped at the hobbit's table after accidentally giving Winter ale, then left in a rather hurried manner. Frodo shot the man in the corner a weird glance, then went back and looked at his ale.

Turning to get a better look, I saw Strider in the corner. He hadn't seen me because the guy was too focused on Frodo. Giving Strider's direction a look of disgust, I went back to Winter, who was snapping her fingers in my face.

"Ah, there you are. Now-," she was cut of by Frodo, who leapt up from his table. He ran over to Pippin, and tried to silence him by pulling on Pippin's coat. Unfortunately, the only thing that did was cause Frodo to trip when Pippin shoved him off. He fell hard on his back. Something golden flew into the air, then began falling to Frodo. The Ring landed on Frodo's finger, and he vanished. Behind me, Strider's chair squeaked, and there was a gasp of astonishment rippling through the room. People started panicking, then Strider pushed himself through everyone to Frodo, who had pulled his ring off and could be seen hiding under a table. Strider clapped him on the shoulder, then threw him up some stairs.

Motioning for Winter to follow, I went up the stairs, wincing when some creaked. Behind us, the other three hobbits pushed past us, muttering some apologies. Armed with some of the strangest things, they went racing down the hall before barging into the room with Frodo. I called to Winter, "Follow them!"

Sprinting down the hall was possibly the funnest thing I had done in a long time.

Strider was about ready to close the door, but I put my arm in front of it. Gesturing to Winter, I panted, "You owe us. You left us in the rain, and now she's sick." Winter, who always had perfect timing, sneezed.

He sighed, "I have more pressing issues."

I could tell Strider wasn't using all of his strength because I easily pushed the door open. "You're not going to blow us off this time. I'll pull an all-nighter if I have to." I let myself in and sat down in the corner. Winter followed suite.

The hobbits just looked at us warily. Pippin was brave enough to ask Strider, "Who are they?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. They just seem to keep appearing."

* * *

**AN: There are a few blank holes in this filler, but my book knowledge is limited (I am working on it though! So excited!), and I apologize for that. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed it!**


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